While there was never any question that the second WinterStorm (a highly successful and sold-out weekend building on the foundations of the inaugural 2016 event) was going to be anything other than a bona fide, beers held high, turn up the volume two days of rock, that word "rock" was given a much broader definition than many a similar or genre specific event, exemplified by the opening acts of each day.

Friday was kicked off by the dramatic and sometimes moody soundscapes of 'Till Death Do Us Part, fronted by Emily Tate (daughter of ex Queensryche front man Geoff Tate) and completed by a musically tight trio of Scottish musicians (who will also feature as Geoff Tate’s Operation Mindcrime 30th anniversary touring band in the UK and Europe).

While there was the inevitable nod to dad (a rendition of the Queensryche classic 'I Don’t Believe In Love') 'Till Death Do Us Part have their own sound, blending progressive-tinged, darker alt-rock with vocals that are more about Kate Bush styled expressiveness than any stereotypical rock delivery.

In an ever-shifting set, the atmospheric slow build of 'Blue Boy' (the song’s edgy guitar work from Kieran Robertson playing counterpoint to Emily Tate’s softer but full vocal) was the pick of the dynamically diverse 'Till Death bunch.

Sunday’s opening act were about as musically far removed from ‘Till Death Do Us Part as you could imagine, but no less engaging.The name Black King Cobra might give the impression of venomous amps to 11 rock but the Glasgow based quartet, led by front man Callum Moran, are a groove-rock outfit with the emphasis firmly on the word groove, plus a whole dose of funk and a prevalence for pacey, crescendo of sound finishes ('Wrack 'N' Ruin' ticking each of those boxes).The band has been together a very short time but here’s hoping for a long, fully funkified, future.

The opening acts set up what were a solid, and at times truly outstanding set of afternoon acts with evening reputations – on Friday Bigfoot, Syteria, Attica Rage and Stone Broken heralded in the arrival of the evening players while Anchor Lane, The King Lot, Massive Wagons, Rock Goddess and Mason Hill performed similarly scheduled roles on the Saturday.

Syteria, uniformly dressed to rock and pop-punk thrill

​Bigfoot have influences that range from the Eagles to Pantera (as was also pointed out in the introduction from the weekend’s MC and Scotland’s Godfather of Rock DJ’ing, Tom Russell), something that was evident across a set that drew heavily from the band’s recent and excellent self-titled debut album, from the rockingly infectious 'Tell Me a Lie' through to the outstanding harmonies delivered on 'Forever Alone' and on to the twenty riffing seconds of 'The Fear,' which would have been much longer if not for the piercing wail of the venue’s smoke alarms, courtesy of an ill-advised decision to fire off two flash-bang pots at the end of the preceding song.​The results were an evacuation out to the very cold winds blowing off of Troon Beach and accompanying Ayrshire drizzle – and the last recorded sighting of Bigfoot in Troon (however their set was so well received they were soon forgiven).

The delay and now late running schedule probably didn’t help Syteria, who also suffered from a crowd now unsure whether to check them out or head for the warmer climes of the food hall area to thaw out.​However it was still a decent sized gathering for the female fronted outfit led by Girlschool guitarist Jackie Chambers and voiced by Julia Vocal (Calvo), the crowd enjoying a hard rock meets pop-punk set that included the punchy 'Get a Life' and the big-beat bite of 'Hypocrite.'

​Following Syteria, Attica Rage turned the amps to 11 and delivered the heaviest performance of the weekend.

The Glasgow based rock-metal outfit have established quite the following over the past decade and have four studio albums to call upon; the results were a very well received set of searing, hard edged and riff driven numbers tempered by the heavily melodic metal of 'Ashamed' and closed out by a thumping cover of 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' (the first of a number of Malcolm Young tributes across the weekend).

Stone Broken have made such a name for themselves over the last couple of years (via 2016 debut album All In Time and outstanding live shows) that they have become one of the must-hear, must-see rising stars in contemporary hard rock.They were also one of the bands of the weekend, blistering their way through a guitar driven set that included the weighty swagger of 'Be There' and rifftastic set closer 'Not Your Enemy,' all girl-powered by the razor sharp beats of Robyn Haycock, who absolutely monstered the drum kit from its (very) high-riser setting.

Stone Broken, unarguably one of the must-see, must hear rising stars in contemporary hard rock - get the picture?

Saturday’s post-opening act afternoon showcase started with Anchor Lane, a band breathing right down the neck of Mason Hill for ownership of the best new Scottish heavy rock band certificate.

Always strong and vibrant live, Anchor Lane have been water tight this last year and with numbers such as 'Runaway' and the slow build shade of 'Take Some Time' complementing the band's New Beginning EP tracks (not least the pounding and purposeful live staple 'Finished by Twelve') it’s now not a matter of can Anchor Lane deliver a hard hitting debut album that collects the best of their material (many of which feature dynamic shifts or interesting change-ups), but when.

Following Anchor Lane were another Scottish band to watch, but one coming from a different musical angle.Melodic power-rock trio The King Lot played at the inaugural Winter Storm, where they showcased tracks from a self-titled debut album that contained more hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box.

This time around, in the company of new guitarist Jay Moir (a young six-string talent who has shared a stage with Paul Gilbert and was celebrating his 22nd Birthday), the band took the brave decision to play a set of songs from forthcoming sophomore release, A World Without Evil (unfamiliar as the material was to the majority of the crowd, the set was received positively and worked extremely well).

While the melodic hooks remain, there’s now a far thicker and edgier sound to The King Lot, as displayed on the heavy melodic rock of 'Save Me' and the grittier 'World Without Evil,' which pointed to a heavier and lyrically weightier sign of things to come (as did the soon-to-be new single 'Maybe They’re Watching Us').

Much like Stone Broken the day before, Massive Wagons demanded, and commanded, some serious attention.Entering to the intro tape bellows of Noddy Holder in his "dearly beloved" role as the Rock 'N' roll Preacher of Slade, the band’s own "I’ve seen the light!" rock cries set up a rollicking set that damn near took the paint off the walls, shifted the balcony fixings and had the stage floor bouncing, the latter due to the highly animated antics of front man Baz Mills (I swear he never had two feet on the ground at the same time).

Mills, a cross between the aforementioned Reverend Holder on full bellow and an Energiser Bunny on overload, led the band through a highly charged set that included the heavy Quo and roll of 'Back to the Stack' (the band’s tribute to the late Rick Parfitt), the heavy AOR hooks of 'Tokyo' and the punky, rock and roll brashness of 'Fee Fi Fo Fum'.It was one of the performances of the weekend with the added bonus of a vocal cameo from singer-come-promotions gal (and manager of The King Lot) Lauren Hutchinson, who can sass the blues as well as she can blues the sass, thank you very much.

The problem for the five years reformed and original New Wave Of British Heavy Metal trio, Rock Goddess, was their usually healthy supply of girl power fell victim to a classic case of Follow That Then and the still reverberating echoes of the Massive Wagons that had just rocked in and rolled out of Troon.

While newer songs such as 'Back Off' were as sharp and feisty as the best of the band’s NWOBHM outings, such as the riff spitting 'Back to You,' there is no question their first appearance in Scotland for three decades would have been better served in an earlier, 'get the crowd going' slot instead of the 'get the crowd back' slot they were faced with, compounded by a true Spinal Tap moment where the band decided to leave the stage to create an encore gap, only to return to a much quieter hall (many Goddess loving punters having headed elsewhere, assuming the set was over).

Mason Hill had no such win-the-crowd-over worries.The Scottish band have gone from strength to strength since their appearance at last year’s WinterStorm and have signed a deal with Frontiers Records; the issue from that union will start with their highly anticipated debut album.

Led by charismatic front man Scott Taylor, Mason Hill are a quintet who love to play; they relish every opportunity to deliver their fiery, twin guitar brand of metal-edged contemporary rock via songs such as the dirty great riff led 'Survive' (from their 2016 EP) and newer numbers like 'No Regret' (a monstrous slice of head-swaying rock that puts HEAVY in capital letters).

But this is a band who can also bring depth and emotive weight to proceedings, as heard through the emotionally charged 'Where I Belong.'

Two bands with established pedigrees and solid reputations played the transitional early evening to late evening slots at WinterStorm on the Friday and Saturday, with interesting parallels – Praying Mantis (Friday) and the Tygers of Pan Tang (Saturday) were stalwarts of the NWOBHM movement but the 21st century editions of both feature as many new songs as old; the pair also played last year’s WinterStorm.

​Praying Mantis still feature band founders and brothers Tino and Chris Troy and are fronted by the strong and rangy voice of Dutch singer John Cuijpers; the band mixed their set with classic Mantis cuts (including 'Captured City' and 'Panic in the Streets') and numbers from last studio album, 2015’s Legacy (the heavy melodic rock of 'Fight For Your Honour' and the pacey, AOR styled 'Believable').

With the current studio album now two years old it was a similar set to that performed in Troon last year, but the good news for Praying Mantis fans is the band are looking to release a new album in 2018.

The Tygers of Pan Tang were given short shift (make that short set) at last year’s WinterStorm; a late arrival due to major traffic problems meant a shortened performance that left many a Tyger fan disappointed.No such problems this year. Arriving to a short but somewhat fitting blast of 'Tiger Feet' these Tygers had plenty in their WinterStorm II tank.

Led by founder and ever present, guitarist Robb Weir, and featuring the strong voiced Jacopo Meille, the band delivered a showcase set that flitted between tracks from their self-titled 2016 release (including blistering opening cut 'Only the Brave' and the big-beat swagger of 'Glad Rags') and fan favourite Tyger tracks such as 'Hellbound' and the band’s inspired cover choice, 'Love Potion No. 9,' which combined to produce their rousing, pedal down encore (other than the headliners the Tygers were the only band given encore time, helping to make up for their blink and you’d miss it set at Troon in 2016).

​​The diversity and quality of the five headline and supporting headline acts meant it was top quality blues, melodic rock, soft/AOR rock, classic rock and feel-good rock 'n' roll for the two evenings' entertainment.

Bernie Marsden needs no introduction but the one given him by Tom Russell nearly took the roof of the hall.In the company of his old 'Snake sparring partner Neil Murray (and in four piece with keyboards mode as opposed to quintet with second guitar), Bernie Marsden delivered a masterclass in blues playing and blues tone.

The noted and well-loved six-stringer sprayed delicious notes out from his favoured PRS guitars in a set of blues standards ('Sitting On Top Of the World' being a particular highlight),a chunky and funky cover of Fleetwood Mac's'Oh Well,' a couple of solo album excursions including the Santana-styled instrumental 'Strictly Latino' and Whitesnake revisits in the shape of 'Walking in the Shadow of the Blues' and full-voiced sing-a-long renditions of 'Fool For Your Loving' and 'Here I Go Again,' the latter brought to a conclusion with a cheeky little blast of 'Is This Love' ("now, why did I do that?" commented Mr Marsden with a glint in his eye).​Bernie Marsden was also the only artist of the weekend to be booed as he left the stage, but only because everyone knew there was no chance of him coming back on (due to the strict and slightly behind timing schedule) for a vociferously demanded encore.

Headliners Tyketto proved why they were just that with a faultless hard melodic rock set of the old and new, led by the seemingly effortless vocality of the ever engaging Danny Vaughn.

As headliners, you are always going to draw a crowd, but even Danny’s boys seemed taken aback by the audience reaction and their know-every-lyric to every sing-a-long involvement; the WinterStorm choir were fully behind the funky 'Lay Your Body Down' and 'Wings,' surely the most infectious melodic rock song of the 90s and one that is still making an impact twenty five years on.

While such songs (lifted from the band’s critically acclaimed 1991 debut Don’t Come Easy) were the set’s heavy hitters (similarly, the anthemic 'Forever Young'), material performed from the band’s latest album Reach weretheir equal, from the punchy, shout it out bravado of 'Big Money' to the band’s emotive all-for-one and one-for-all number 'Circle the Wagons.'There was also a welcome outing for the song 'Heaven Tonight,' a nod to Danny Vaughn’s mid 80s time in the band Waysted. For many, its inclusion was the icing on the tasty Tyketto cake.

Tyketto still have the Wings to fly twenty-five plus years on from their acclaimed arrival on the hard melodic rock scene

The blues and hard melodic rock of Friday evening were complemented and dovetailed by the soft-rock, classic rock and loose-yet-tight rock and roll of Saturday night, courtesy of DARE, the Graham Bonnet Band and the Quireboys.

DARE, led by ex Thin Lizzy keyboardist turned front man Darren Wharton, are best described as exponents of soft rock, showcased through an eight studio album run of polished AOR styled material, the latest of which is last year’s Sacred Ground (producing live highlights such as the emotive, Celtic themed 'Home' and 'Days of Summer').But this is a band that also can turn it up and rock it out ('Wings Of Fire') or tone it right down for their nod to Wharton’s Thin Lizzy past via a rock ballad arrangement of 'Emerald.'

DARE delivered a strong set of soft material, but it was interesting to note the ongoing discussions post-show as to whether DARE had done rearranged justice to 'Emerald' or murdered an absolute rock classic.For the record, this fan and reviewer sees and hears it as a respectful reinterpretation but one that would never Dare (sorry) attempt to rival the power and gravitas of the original.

​"Rock royalty" was how Tom Russell introduced Graham Bonnet and, given the back catalogue and various successful projects fronted by the near fifty year career veteran of chart pop, classic rock and more metal driven endeavours, it’s a well-earned and accurate label of respect.

The Graham Bonnet Band recently released a cracking little album by the name of The Book, but it was more By The Numbers at Troon for a greatest hits set that appealed to the rock masses.​

MSG ('Desert Song,' 'Assault Attack'), Rainbow ('Lost in Hollywood,' a return of the WinterStorm choir for 'All Night Long' and 'Since You’ve Been Gone'), Alcatrazz ('Too Young To Die...', 'Jet to Jet', 'Hiroshima Mon Amour') all made appearances as did Impellitteri, a couple of solo numbers and an outing for the rapid-fire rock of 'Into The Night' from The Book.

Live, Graham Bonnet hasn’t always brought his full voice with him (he doesn’t have the depth of vocal he once had but can still get up there, albeit not as high these days), but the good and assured vocal news was he was more Greatest Hit than Miss at WinterStorm.

Even if you're not a fan of their body of bar-room styled rock and glam roll, it’s almost impossible not to love the Quireboys live – this is a band whose party atmosphere rock and roll was made for the stage, led by the distinct rasp of enigmatic front man Spike (aka Jonathan Gray) whose banter with audiences is as much a part of the band’s charm as their music.

The Quireboys opened with a brace of covers from their new and extremely well-received album White Trash Blues ('Going Down,' 'Leaving Trunk') but other potential blues tracks were posted missing due to time restraints and set-list shortening.​The band therefore shook off their blues for a Best Of repertoire ('Mona Lisa Smiled,' 'Hey You,' 'I Don’t Love You Anymore,' '7 O’clock' et al) that was the feel-good, foot tapping sing-a-long set of the weekend.

​While Tyketto and the Quireboys were afforded headline status on each day, they weren’t the last acts to take the WinterStorm stage; the final act of the night slots were very much made in Scotland.

On Friday Heavy Pettin' (featuring their original front-line of Steve "Hamie" Hayman and guitarists Gordon Bonnar and Punky Mendoza) returned to the stage for a 45 minute revisit of their successful but relatively short lived 80s rock and melodic metal days.

They also managed to be the most polarising act of WinterStorm; post show crowd chat and heading home comments ranged from "band of the weekend" from the Pettin’ faithful (who had waited decades for any sort of reunion) to others who couldn’t understand what all the reformed, last-band-on fuss was about.

The truth (as is usually the case when the die-hard, hear no evil fraternity go toe to toe with the negative naysayers), was somewhere in between.Opening number 'Victims of the Night' and the early musical going exposed a quintet with limited rehearsal time and a group of musicians that had never performed live together before, but by mid-set the band (also featuring two backing singers to boost the harmonies) settled in to a more confident and concise set of powerful Pettin’ numbers including 'In and Out of Love,' 'Roll the Dice' and 'Hell is Beautiful.'As the performance progressed front man Steve Hayman also found his voice and range, hitting a couple of tenor highs as the set metallically rocked and rolled toward its conclusion.

Working as a six-piece the all-star band delivered a set of songs associated with each of the name trio, in the company of some special guests – 'Ariel' from the Rainbow album Stranger in Us All (which featured Doogie White) was a standout; a couple of Sensational Alex Harvey Band numbers were performed including 'Midnight Moses' (featuring Mason Hill guitarist James Bird); GUN slinging six-stringers Jools Gizzi and Tommy Gentry then joined the band for 'Better Days' and 'Word Up!'

The best however was left to last, an emotive and resonant rendition of 'Temple of the King;' the Rainbow classic was dedicated on the night to fallen rock icons including Ronnie James Dio and Malcolm Young.

WinterStorm II was a fantastic event for Troon, Ayrshire and rock music; a respective show of hands is therefore in order for the bands that played and the fans that bought tickets and made the Rock Weekender 'down the beach' such a sold-out success.

But the biggest round of applause should go to event organiser Ian McCaig (who confirmed WinterStorm has grown so big, so quickly, that bands are now coming to him to enquire about playing WSIII) and his team of ever-helpful, ever-friendly, two days of 12-hour-shift helpers, staffers, assistants, security and crew.

It also means the most significant and defining picture taken at WinterStorm II is the one below.

Take a bow gang, and here’s to the next one.

Ross MuirFabricationsHQ

All photos by Ritchie Birnie

Ian McCaig (second from right, back row) and his team helped make WinterStorm II a smooth running success